Number of passenger trips during China's Spring Festival rush expected to reach 9 billion

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) separatist candidate Lai Ching-te's latest remarks to advocate the fallacy of "Taiwan independence" as well as his previous remarks indicate that if he was elected as the leader of Taiwan region, he will further promote "Taiwan independence" and separatist activities and the so-called "new situation" that Lai wants to create will be a dangerous situation with rough waves in the Taiwan Straits, Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office told a press conference on Wednesday. 

On Tuesday, Lai told a press conference that he will continue Tsai Ing-wen's diplomatic, national defense, and stable cross-Straits policies, claiming that if elected, it will contribute to creating a new situation in the Indo-Pacific region.

Chen said that the cross-Straits relations have deteriorated from peaceful development to tense confrontation over the past eight years, which fully proves that the so-called "Tsai Ing-wen path" is a path of "Taiwan independence" and confrontation, and is harmful to Taiwan. It is the major threat to Taiwan's security, the interests of Taiwan people, and regional stability.

Lai claimed to continue the path, which means continuing old path of provoking "independence" and confrontation, leading Taiwan away from peace and prosperity but toward conflict and recession, said Chen.

"Taiwan independence" is incompatible with peace in the Taiwan Straits and goes against the interests and well-being of the people in Taiwan. Only with peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits and peaceful development of cross-Straits relations can the people in Taiwan live a peaceful, secure, and prosperous life, Chen said.

The spokesperson also sincerely hoped that the majority of the compatriots on the island of Taiwan will recognize the extreme harm of the DPP's "Taiwan independence" path and the extreme danger of Lai's provocation of cross-Straits conflicts, and make the right choice at the crossroads of cross-Straits relations, to create a new situation of friendly support and prosperous development between compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Straits.

The mutual visits of the table tennis teams from Chinese and the US' universities continued the friendly chapter of Ping-Pong Diplomacy and injected new strength into the two countries' people-to-people exchanges, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday when asked to comment on the Peking University students' visit to the US in December 2023, followed by a trip by students from the University of Virginia to China.

53 years ago, young table tennis players from China and the US raised the curtain for the normalization of bilateral relations in Beijing, enabling "the little ball to move the big ball," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning at the Tuesday press conference.

"The more frequent exchanges the two countries' people have, the stronger the public support for developing bilateral relations, the broader the space, and the stronger the driving force there will be," Mao added.

From December 12 to 23, the Peking University table tennis team made up of 15 students and teachers was invited to visit the US to for the US Table Tennis Open in Los Angeles. They also participated in a series of events commemorating the 52nd anniversary of China-US Ping Pong Diplomacy in Washington, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, with close interactions between the young Americans and local residents.

"As the backbone of future society, young people from China and the US should step out of their countries and experience the lifestyle and culture of other countries. Ping Pong, as a medium of communication, has truly brought us closer," Wu Bohan, a student from the Peking University table tennis team told the Global Times.

"What impressed me the most is the huge interest and enthusiasm the American students showed during our visit to the US this time," Zhang Yuwen, a member of the Peking University table tennis team and student from the School of International Studies, told the Global Times. "Every time the Americans saw the name 'China' marked on our jerseys, they would come to ask where in China we come from; which games we play, and even wished us good luck in our games."

In return, 18 table tennis team members from the University of Virginia were invited to visit China, coinciding with the 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and the US. They stayed in Beijing from January 4 to January 8 and participated in the youth table tennis exchange at Tsinghua University.

During their nine-day trip to China from Hong Kong, Beijing to Shanghai the students learnt about the history of Ping-Pong Diplomacy and cultural differences between the two countries.

Mao noted that China is willing to work with the US to implement the important consensus on promoting cultural exchanges reached at the China-US summit in San Francisco, to promote the spirit of "Ping-Pong Diplomacy," and to continue new chapters of friendship between the Chinese and American people.

The processing trade is one of the sectors most affected by rising labor costs in China. In the eyes of some Westerners, China's labor-intensive processing trade has lost its competitiveness, but the real story of the labor-intensive industry chain is much more complex than the industrial transfer trend as depicted by these pessimists.

Chinese authorities recently rolled out a guideline to improve the development of the processing trade. The guideline, regarded as the most important for the reform of China's processing trade since 2016, put forward 12 measures across six categories, involving efforts to encourage the expansion of Chinese domestic markets for processing trade.

Processing trade refers to the business activity of importing all or parts of raw and auxiliary materials, parts, accessories and packaging materials, and re-exporting finished products after processing or assembly is completed by companies within China. But people's concept of China's processing trade needs to change, as the country promotes sales of finished products in the domestic market and also integrates the development of domestic and foreign trade.

The processing trade is an important aspect of international industrial transfers. Since China launched its epochal reform and opening-up drive in 1978, the country has utilized an organic combination of capital, techniques, management and other advantages of foreign investment with the advantage of low-cost elements in China, such as the labor force, and it has become a globally oriented processing and manufacturing base.

The proportion of processing trade in China's foreign trade peaked at 53 percent in 1998. It plays an important role in the foreign trade and national economic development of China.

The international environment and domestic conditions for the development of the processing trade have undergone material changes. On the one hand, increasing labor costs have put pressure on traditional sectors in the coastal regions. Meanwhile, the rise of trade protectionism in the US-led West, as well as weak external demand, have posed challenges to China's processing trade, especially the development of labor-intensive industries.

On the other hand, China's foreign trade also has new opportunities. The rise of domestic consumer power in China is becoming a new advantage in China's foreign trade. China's economic miracle in the past few decades has led to the rise of its middle class, making China an increasingly important importer in the global industry chain and a consumer market for finished products.

China has strengthened the integration of domestic and foreign trade. Efforts have been made to break down industry barriers, promote the convergence of domestic and international standards, and accelerate the mutual recognition in conformity assessment.

Recently, some Western media outlets have run reports about "industrial transfers," "the withdrawal of foreign investment" and "economic decoupling from China," which constitute a new round of bad-mouthing China's economy with a sinister intention. Some Westerners always like to exaggerate the risks faced by the Chinese economy and deliberately ignore its positive aspects.

The issuance of guidance on the processing trade at this time shows that Chinese policymakers are accelerating the integration of China's foreign trade advantages and consumption advantages. China is the world's largest trading country and the second-largest consumer market.

The power of this fusion will be astonishing. It will create new advantages for the development of China's processing trade, and promote China's transformation from a world factory relying on cheap labor to a trading powerhouse.

The guidance also said China will encourage the processing trade of high value-added products, while supporting the development of advanced manufacturing and strategic emerging industries in the processing trade. It is expected that more favorable policies will be introduced, promoting China's foreign trade reform to create new advantages in the global competition.

China's tourism market boom over the three-day New Year's Day holidays did not end with the holidays. Over the past several days, bustling scenes of tourists enjoying ice and snow activities in Harbin in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province and sunshine in South China's Hainan Province have become hot topics in China and abroad.

The busy, lively scenes are not limited to Harbin and Hainan. Other parts of China, including Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, are also seeing robust growth in the number of tourists and revenues they generate. The tourism boom is expected to last through the Chinese Lunar New Year holidays, which is about a month away, according to travel agencies and experts.

The tourism boom not only illustrates the vitality and potential of China's consumption market, but also paves the way for the overall economic recovery in 2024, experts said, with some predicting solid economic recovery this year, though further policy measures are needed to tackle pressure and challenges.

On Friday, Harbin officially kicked off its annual International Ice and Snow Festival, declaring a public holiday. The festival also opened along with the launch of the China-France Year of Culture and Tourism, according to a statement from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Friday.

The opening of the International Ice and Snow Festival comes as Harbin became a sensation for its winter tourism boom since the New Year's Day holidays, attracting hundreds of millions of views and comments on social media platforms. Video footage of tourists in winter clothes dancing to music in Harbin posted by China Media Group has attracted more than 13.18 million views on Sina Weibo as of Friday afternoon.

While a final tally on attendees at the festival was not yet available on Friday, Harbin has already seen robust numbers. During the three-day New Year's holidays, the city saw about 3.05 million tourist trips and a total tourism revenue of about 5.91 billion yuan ($832 million) - both are historical highs, according to local official data.

Harbin is not alone in seeing a tourism boom. Xinjiang, which has become a top tourist spot in China for its beautiful nature and culture, also saw rapid growth in trips and revenue. During the New Year's Day holidays, Xinjiang received more than 1.66 million trips, up 195 percent year-on-year, and generated about 1.76 billion yuan in tourism revenue, up 424.3 percent year-on-year, according to local data.

Meanwhile, Hainan, which is known for its warm weather in the winter, also saw growth rates of over 60 percent in both trip numbers and tourism revenue over the New Year's Day holidays. More importantly, bookings for Hainan for the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year holidays are already picking up pace, according to media reports.
Support for economic recovery

"As the Chinese Lunar New Year holidays approach, it is expected that the tourism market nationwide will continue to see a relatively big boom," Chen Fengying, an economist and former director of the Institute of World Economic Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times.

Chen, who was visiting Hainan, said that the tourism market in the province is "very hot" and consumers' willingness to travel is also "relatively high," which "will provide support for China's economic recovery," she said.

The tourism boom means increased spending and businesses activity for companies in a wide range of areas. For example, after Harbin became a sensation, various companies have seen rapid growth in business. Notably, share prices of Changbai Mountain Tourism Co, which is based in Northeast China's Jilin Province, surged more than 51 percent over the past five days.

As the ice-and-snow fever continues to grow after the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022, China's winter tourism market is rising rapidly, benefiting areas such as Northeast China and Xinjiang, where ice and snow activities are popular. The China Tourism Academy predicted that during the 2024-2025 ice and snow season, a total of 520 million trips and a revenue of 720 billion yuan are expected.

Cao Heping, an economist at Peking University, said that he has been traveling across the country since the beginning of the year and has seen a robust recovery in the tourism industry.

"The rebound in consumer demand also reflects the development trend of China's economy. The recovery of consumption has a positive impact on consumer confidence and further boosts economic recovery," Cao told the Global Times on Friday.

The tourism boom has also lifted expectations among economists for China's economic recovery in 2024, with many also pointing to ramped up policy measures to boost consumption and other growth drivers.

Yu Yongding, an academic member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and a prominent economist, wrote in an article shared with the Global Times on Friday that China's GDP growth target "should not be lower than 5 percent in 2024."

Yu also noted that to boost consumption, efforts must be taken to first increase residents' incomes, and consumption and investment, the two main growth drivers, should be in a virtuous cycle in which they promote each other. The article was first published on the WeChat account of China Finance 40 Forum.

Cao also said that amid challenges such as insufficient demand, policy support should be further intensified in several areas, including using various monetary policy tools to ensure ample liquidity to boost confidence among businesses and consumers, and support for new technologies and new emerging industries should also be increased.

"If all policies are carried out according to plan, I think it's possible that our GDP growth rate could hit as much as 5.5 percent in 2024," Cao said.

A series of typical cases related to bride price and dowry were issued by China’s top court and other departments on Monday as reference and supplement to the stipulations in the Civil Code in dealing with disputes over bride price when couples break up. 

According to China’s Supreme People’s Court, as a traditional Chinese custom, bride price and dowry have a deep social and cultural foundation in the Chinese society. However, the rising amount of bride price and dowry in recent years has led to an increasing number of bride price-related disputes and even serious criminal cases, China Central Television reported on Monday. 

A recent murder case of two victims related to the disputes over bride price happened in Liangshan, Southwest China’s Sichuan Province, on November 11. The incident sparked heated discussions online. 

A woman and her relative were killed by the woman’s ex-boyfriend and his father at a local mahjong parlor after the woman refused to return the bride price despite that she decided to break up with the man. The woman received 300,000 yuan ($41,741) in bride price but returned 150,000 yuan to the man after they broke up, according to media reports. 

On Monday, the Supreme People’s Court, together with China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs and All-China Women’s Federation held a press conference to release four cases involving disputes over bride price and dowry, which balanced the interests of the involved parties. The ruling took local economic and social development into account, and gave consideration to factors such as the duration of cohabitation, whether they have registered for marriage legally, and whether they have children. 

According to the Civil Code, there are three situations the bride price should be returned: the couple have not registered legally, they registered but don’t live together, or the payment of betrothal gifts causes financial difficulties for the payer. 

However, in practice, there are many cases in which the couples have not registered legally but have held weddings according to local customs and have lived together. Sometimes the couples have registered their marriage but only live for a short period of time. The Civil Code does not apply to these cases. 

According to the Supreme People’s Court, this batch of representative cases clarifies three principles for handling betrothal disputes: prohibiting soliciting property through marriage; the reasonable betrothal gifts amount based on local practice and customs; and the balance of rights and interests of both parties by considering their duration of cohabitation, marriage registration status and whether they have children.

Two common situations where disputes of betrothal gifts often occur is “flash divorce” and living together without legal registration of marriage. 

The court clarified that in addition to marriage registration, the bride price is usually meant for living together for a long time. Thus, the time of cohabitation should be considered an important factor in determining whether and how much the bride price should be returned. 

Meanwhile, considering that the termination of pregnancy causes harm to a woman’s health, it is appropriate to return only part of the bride price to better balance the interests of both parties.

In one case where the couple did not register their marriage but held a wedding ceremony according to local customs, lived together for three years and had conceived a child, the court did not support the return of the bride price to protect the woman’s legitimate rights and interests. 

Besides, the top court also noted that bride price and dowry are both traditional Chinese marriage customs which share a common purpose and should be subject to the same rules based on local customs. 

China's elderly population aged 60 and above reached 280.04 million by the end of 2022, accounting for 19.8 percent of the total population, according to the latest report released by the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Demographers say China has paid great attention to addressing challenges brought by the aging population but more can be improved, such as further optimizing China's social security system.

The country's elderly population aged 65 and over reached 209.78 million in 2022, accounting for 14.9 percent of the total population, while the national dependency ratio of the elderly population aged 65 and above hit 21.8 percent, the report titled Communique on the Development of the National Cause for Aging said. 

Since China became an aging society at the end of the 20th century, the number and proportion of the elderly population have continued to grow. From 2000 to 2018, the elderly population aged 60 and above increased from 126 million to 249 million, and in 2022, the number reached 280 million. The proportion of elderly population also increased from 10.2 percent in 2000 to 17.9 percent in 2018, and further to 19.8 percent in 2022. 

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, there have been three birth peaks. It is expected that the size of the elderly population will reach the peak of 520 million in 2054, Yuan Xin, a professor from the Institute of Population and Development at Nankai University's School of Economics, told the Global Times.

"China's aging rate is faster than that of 15 countries with more than 100 million people in the world. One of the reasons is the drop in the fertility rate," Yuan noted. China's fertility rate is estimated to have dropped to a record low of 1.09 in 2022, data from China Population and Development Research Center showed. 

China's pressure in dealing with such a large elderly population is unprecedented, not only in terms of size but also in terms of the rapid increase in growth, Yuan noted. 

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, more than 300 documents and plans for the elderly population have been issued at or above the provincial or ministerial level. 

Wang Jianjun, former executive deputy director of the Office of the National Working Commission on Aging, has said that prioritizing the health of the elderly, China has seen improvements in providing basic insurance care and has built a complete welfare system to support the aging society.

When it comes to the supply of elderly care services, the report is optimistic, saying in this area it is being "continuously enhanced."

In 2022, the compliance rate of supporting elderly care service facilities in newly built residential areas in cities across the country reached 83.2 percent. Improvement of quality and efficiency among special care hospitals and hospitals for the family of martyrs has been seen after the central budget delineated support for them, the report said. 

Data shows that by the end of 2022, there were 387,000 elderly care institutions and facilities of various types across the country, with a total of 8.294 million elderly care beds.

Among them, 41,000 were registered elderly care institutions, an increase of 1.6 percent over the previous year, with 5.183 million beds, an increase of 2.9 percent over the previous year. There are, by the end of 2022, 347,000 community elderly care service institutions and facilities with 3.111 million beds, according to the report.

Additionally, China continues to optimize the establishment of majors related to elderly care services at secondary vocational schools, higher vocational colleges, and higher vocational undergraduate schools.

Also, the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments have introduced several policies and measures to provide relief and support to the elderly care and childcare service industry. 

The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development has guided qualified regions to explore providing vacant public rental housing free of charge to social institutions, so that they can provide meal assistance, day care, rehabilitation care, elderly education and other services for the elderly in the community, according to the report. 

Yuan told the Global Times that if society offers more social participation opportunities for the elderly by raising the retirement age, the income status and consumption willingness of the elderly population would be a huge potential market and new economic growth point. 

The demographer said supporting facilities and systems would have to be established to support the raising of the retirement age, for example, letting the elderly choose whether to extend their retirement flexibly and if they are okay to do part-time work.

President Xi Jinping met Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu in Beijing on Monday as Lee is paying a visit to the country's capital city.

Experts said on Monday that the central government has held high expectations for the HKSAR to further advance the governance by patriots, to continue the job of safeguarding national security, to promote economic recovery and people's livelihood, and to enhance governance efficiency following the recent district council elections. 

Also on Monday, Xi met with Chief Executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region Ho Iat Seng, who is also on a duty visit to Beijing, and heard a report from Ho on Macao's current situation and the Macao SAR government's work, Xinhua News Agency reported.

During the meeting with Li, Xi heard a report from Lee on Hong Kong's current situation and the HKSAR government's work, Xinhua News Agency reported. 

Lauding Lee's work over the past year, Xi said Lee has led the HKSAR government in shouldering responsibilities and delivering good results.

The HKSAR government has resolutely safeguarded national security, reformed the District Council system in Hong Kong, smoothly completed the District Council Ordinary Election, and brought Hong Kong out of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and toward a comprehensive recovery, Xi said.

The HKSAR government has maintained the region's distinctive status and advantages, bolstered the drivers for development and worked hard to solve the most pressing issues and difficulties of the people, Xi said, adding that all these have consolidated the HKSAR's turning for the better and facilitated its entry into a new stage in which it has restored order and is set to thrive.

Xi said the central authorities fully acknowledged the work of Lee and the HKSAR government.

After listening to Xi's remarks, Lee expressed heartfelt thanks to Xi and the central government for their care and support for Hong Kong, as well as their guidance and encouragement to the HKSAR government, according to the Hong Kong local media.

During the meeting with Ho, Xi also recognized Ho's work over the past year, saying thatHo has led the Macao SAR government in conscientiously performing their duties and achieving practical results. 

The central government will, as always, comprehensively and accurately implement the principle of  One Country, Two Systems with unwavering determination, fully implement the principle of patriots administering Macao, and fully support the CE and the SAR government in uniting all sectors of society, Xi said. 

And the central government will support the SAR to seize the historic opportunities brought by national development, continuously advance the successful practice of  One Country, Two Systems with Macao's characteristics, and welcome the 25th Anniversary of Macao's Return to the Motherland with new developmental achievements, Xi said.

Monday also marks the commencement of Jimmy Lai's trial for violating the National Security Law for Hong Kong, and the initiation of the local legislative process under Article 23 of the Basic Law, making the assurance of national security in Hong Kong a critical component of Lee's work report, Lau Siu-kai, a consultant from the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies who is also a senior policy advisor, told the Global Times on Monday.

"President Xi clearly focuses on national security, the perfection of Hong Kong's governance framework under the principle of 'patriots administering Hong Kong,' addressing social and livelihood issues, and Hong Kong's integration into the national development plan. These are also the key aspects of the central government's assessment of the work of the HKSAR government," Lau said.

The background of Chief Executive's report this year is that Hong Kong has gone "from chaos to stability and to prosperity." At this stage, Hong Kong must develop its economy and improve people's livelihoods, former member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress Tam Yiu-chung told the Global Times on Monday.  

In terms of economic development, Hong Kong has initially recovered its economy, the number of tourists is increasing, and all aspects are slowly recovering. But there are still challenges. For example, in terms of finance, the stock market remains relatively sluggish, housing problems persists, including falling property prices. In addition, the final district council elections to improve the electoral system have been successfully completed, and we can also report on the relevant work to the main leaders of the central government, Tam said.

Tam said the central government's expectations for Hong Kong mainly include several key points. The first is to continue to do a good job in safeguarding national security. The second is that the legislative work of Article 23 must be correctly implemented. In addition, "we must also develop the economy in a way that finds new economic development factors and directions and new development points. We must continue to do a good job in all aspects of people's livelihood," Tam noted.

People visit the Mirzaam Expo in Hawalli Governorate, Kuwait, on Dec. 12, 2023. The Mirzaam Expo, an interior design and decor exhibition, kicked off here on Tuesday and will last until Dec. 16.(Photo: Xinhua)

Chinese golfer Sui Xiang set the pace early in the Singapore Ladies Masters on Thursday by carding a flawless six-under-par 66 to grab the first round lead.

Shannon Tan from Singapore also stayed in the hunt for a breakthrough in the China Ladies Professional Golf Association (CLPGA) by returning with a 68 to share second place with China's Cai Danlin, Thailand's Sherman Santiwiwatthanaphong, Kultida Pramphun and Japan's Ayaka Suzuki at the Laguna National Golf Resort Club. 

Despite enjoying a bogey-free round that was highlighted by six birdies on holes five, six, 11, 12, 15 and 18, Sui believes there is still room for improvement as she chases her third CLPGA title.

"Today was probably one of the most comfortable rounds I've played. I was hitting almost every fairway and I also hit my approach shots really close to the hole, which helped me make birdies and go bogey-free. I would give myself a 99 for my performance today, leaving one point out because there's always room for improvement. I don't think too much about my position on the leaderboard during tournaments. I'm just focused on playing good golf," she said. 

Tan had an encouraging start as she charged out with three birdies in her opening six holes. She parred the next two holes before dropping a shot on the par-four nine to reach the turn in 34.

The 19-year-old Texas Tech University undergraduate, who finished joint fourth in the recent NCAA Division 1 regionals, then birdied the 10th hole before marking her card with another birdie on 16 after five straight pars. 

Playing on her home course, the Singaporean reached home comfortably with pars on 17 and 18 to sign for a 68.

"I honestly didn't think it was my best round today but I felt I stuck to my game plan. I missed in the right spots where I could get up and down for par," said Tan. 

"I'm definitely more comfortable now [competing in a professional tournament] as I've had a couple of experiences in the past. And also it's on home ground, so I had a couple of friends who came out to support me, which was really nice."

Sherman, the current CLPGA Order of Merit leader, traded five birdies against one lone bogey on the par-four 14th to trail Sui by two shots. The Thai admitted she will have to improve on her putting as she continues to chase her second victory in the CLPGA following her breakthrough in Shanghai in June.  

The Singapore Ladies Masters is the fifth leg of the 2023 CLPGA season after stops in Tianjin, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong.